Routes as trad in Watsons Bay

Start in the little corner past arete, 40m right of CoB. Not accessible in big seas. easily seen from the south.

1. 20m (24) Up the corner, head right (manky BRs) then through roof and up wall. Continue past small ledge (manky BR) to large ledge.

2. 35m (20) Walk 4m left then climb diagonally left and up to top.

Classic bridging corner in middle of steep wall facing the lookouts. SOme old bolts but good natural gear.

1. 30m (21) A hard but well protected crux to get established in the corner (2 good BRs). Cruise up the steep corner to a small belay stance.

2. 12m Either continue up the line (loose), or traverse right around the arete and up the short wall (no pro).

15m left of CoB.

1. 15m (22) Up flake and wall then head left, up and back right to the belay.

2. 30m (23) Head right to roof then up to flake. Follow flake left to a stance, then move right and up a variety of cracks to the top. Take a large cam.

Start under roofed corner, 5m left of SG.

1. 15m Up corner (manky BRs) then traverse left under the roof to a crack. Follow this (getting harder) then belay on the right (BBs).

2. 20m (24) Head 4m right to arete. Up this then move left to crack. Up the wall, through a bulge (BR) to belay below roof.

3. 10m Follow the jam crack left through the roof.

3m left of JC, at the base of the abseil. Up (BR) to corner. Traverse left around arete (BR) then up the wall above (BR).

Start below a thin crack 2m left of the right arete of the cove. Up (manky BR) to gain the crack. Follow this for 2m then move right to the arete and up.

4m left of S. Up the blank corner.

4m left of SWD on boulder.

1. 15m (20) Strenuously up to ledge at 5m. Follow low traverse line right to arete. Rap off, or

2. 10m (19) Continue up the slopey corner above (no pro).

Start as for ST.

1. 25m (20) Follow the gutter left.

2. 25m (20) Head diagonally up and left.

At the buttress above the keyhole. The keyhole is almost directly below the Dunbar's anchor. Up for 4m then move right to the line that goes through the rooves and on to the top.

This and the next climb T are accessed either by walking around through the keyhole (only when the swell is small and the tide is out), or by rapping all the way down Poet's Corner. Escape Climb 25m 15 The corner, about 10m left of LJC. Scary

As for PC. A mammoth leftwards traverse that finishes at the base of Why Me. It's the longest climb in Sydney, and almost certainly unrepeated, so race down there now to bag the coveted second ascent!!

Scarier than many routes twice the grade. Big roof down left of poet's Corner. Scramble down about 12m right (south) of PC. Rap down a small corner then tension right under the big roof (difficult) to a hanging belay (very manky BBs).

Huge roof with crazy moves. Take a #9 hex. Up and through roof to ledge (big exposure). Head up and right (BR) to arete then up. Reasonable pro but crazy!

Just left of the arete, about 8m right of FF. ABout 30m R of the abseil.

1. 20m (23) Up and right (BR) then up and left (BR) to flake. Continue up to rounded hold (BR) then head diagonally right (BRs) to crack. Up to ledge.

2. 20m (25) Right out roof then left over bulge and continue left (stance). Blast over roof and up wall above to belay in V corner (BBs and cams).

3. 20m (21) Head diagonally right to slabby corner (as for FF).

Variant second pitch to B. Follow the lower traverse line (BR then cams) to belay as for B P2. Much safer than any of the pitches on B.

1. 25m (27) Up Boyzone corner for 10m then step left (BR). Through roof to flake (BR) then up to break. Move right and up to roof (BR), then launch out big roof to BR on lip. Continue up to belay on BRs on B P2.

2. 20m (27) Over rooves and up (BRs and a large cam) to belay on ledge as for B P3.

3. 30m As for B P4.

20m right of FA at brown slime. Blast straight up the wall (BRs and small to mid size cams) to belay as for B P2. Rap off, or finish up B.

Hornby lighthouse to Jacob's Ladder

Fairly difficult and extremely illegal section of the traverse. It begins at the military air base with a committing grade 18 traverse and a 27m abseil. Once the rope is pulled on this rap, the only way out is forward. Very low tides and swell are required along with difficult free climbing and even an archway to crawl through that gets flooded on every wave. Given the almost certain chance of an un-warented rescue being called on your behalf, its not worth attempting this part without certainty of success. When done with swims on a freakishly calm day this is quite a reasonable exercise, as only a handful of gaps require roping up.

From the North: Starting at Watsons bay, walk and scramble south to reach the gaza strip. And unless you've previously explored this traverse in detail, leave a rap rope fixed and collect it later. You’ll be surprised at just how perfect the conditions must be to get around this part of the cliffline. The scramble starts out with some tricky wet bouldering sections before requiring you to rock hop and wade for a sort section. If the swell is too high and you have to stay high on the cliffline here, there's no point continuing as it becomes more and more condition dependant the further you go. Once around this crux, there's an easy 500m or so of rock hoping and cave scrambling. About 200m before turning the corner on The Gap main wall, there is a tricky and dangerous wet boulder problem move (can be protected with gear), followed by some more tricky and exposed climbing. The chossy band of rock 30m off the deck is the best way through, goes fairly easily at about grade 16 M0 on terrible gear or maybe 23 if you were to free the last moves. A 27m rap gets you to the ground and some hurried scurrying to get around The Gap corner. Once inside The Gap, the back inlet/stream can be crossed/ at low tide and the keyhole on its southern corner can be squeezed though also. If you’re in any doubt as to what conditions are required to send this part of the traverse, have a peak at the keyhole from the railing at The gap, It is “Just” visible if you crane your neck nearby the lowest part of the lookout system. Once through the Keyhole, the first bail option on this section appears as “Escape Climb” (15). To continue the traverse, the big zawn must be climbed to gain dulling biceps area. This wet horizontal pumpfest has been done by Mikl and co in the 80's. Roughly 40m of climbing up to grade 22, worth pitching up to save decking on the submurged boulders. From dulling biceps it’s an easy (at low swell) scramble around to Jacob's Ladder where this section of the traverse finishes.

Start: Corner 5m right of Gayline.

Up main corner then sloping corner above. Upper bolts unlikely.

Could be a trad lead there although top is filled with veg.

Start: Thin left-sloping orange-streaked corner.

Up corner for 5m, left to large block, then pocketed wall with rusted carrots, finish up corner through a withered multi-stemmed Banksia. Solid hardcore tips layaway could await the intrepid directionista.

Start: Just left of steep corner under roof crack 8m left of Gayline.

Hard move past corroded shaft of old carrot (or potential cam?), up corner then jam thru horizontal roof into dirt. "That's the way, u-huh u-huh, I liike it ..."

Only possibly belay appears to be massive splined shaft of WWII gun mount 10m back.

Heavy pants "keep slipping off".

Up Strange Bedfellows for 5m then left up wall past rusted carrot. Even looks like another roof crack for the keen and hard.